Just a Dream
by cowgirlangel95
Summary: One shot sequel to Dress Whites and Gold Wings; AU: She shook her head as she let a sob escape her. This can't be happening to me! her thoughts screamed - loosely based on the Carrie Underwood song, "Just a Dream"


_**A/N: Hello all. Like promised, here is the one shot sequel to**_ **Dress Whites and Gold Wings.**

 _ **Disclaimer: Don't own it**_

 _Riley anxiously sat in Captain McCall's office, waiting on any updates on Lucas. They had found Farkle about an hour ago and took him back to the_ Enterprise's _sick bay. From what they could tell, he appeared to be okay. Ever since then, Riley couldn't bear to sit out in the lounge with everyone else. Maya had followed her into the office and quietly stayed by her side the entire time. There wasn't much Maya could say to try and comfort her, and Riley couldn't blame her for that. No one knew where Lucas was, his condition, and whether or not he was alive._

 _The storm continued to pelt against the window. To Riley, it seemed as if it was growing stronger instead of weaker as time passed. It worried her. Granted, Lucas was in a different part of the storm at the moment, but who knows how bad the sea is right now. How high were the swells? How cold was the water? Riley silently shook her head as a tear slid down her cheek. Those reports had come in a while ago, and frankly, she didn't want to know. For some reason, her mind was trying to convince her that the more she avoided knowing all the facts, the more likely Lucas would survive, even though she knew that wasn't the case at all._

 _Riley rested her forehead on her arms and bit the inside of her cheek as she mindlessly stared at the floor. She never felt more helpless in her life. She was supposed to be able to fix things! But there was nothing she could do to fix this. The only thing that could be done was to sit and wait for any news._

 _As time ticked on, Riley closed her eyes and prayed for the umpteenth time that night._ Lord, please let him be alright; please bring him back to me.

 _Once she finished her prayer, the sound of footsteps approaching the desk reached her ears. She lifted her head to see Captain McCall standing a few feet away from her. Both she and Maya eagerly stood up and scanned his face to try and gather any information. But the more Riley studied his face, time seemed to slow down drastically. His expression was one of pain and sorrow._

 _No one said anything for quite some time. Somehow, Riley mustered enough strength to ask, "Well?"_

 _The last thing Riley heard was McCall saying, "I'm sorry," before she felt her heart explode and the tears start streaming down._

 _OoOoO_

 _Riley bit her lip as she tried to stay silent through the ceremony. It pained her to see Lucas' coffin sitting a few feet away from her._ Baby, why'd you leave me? Why did you have to go?

 _As the tears continued to flow down her face in small streams, the preacher said, "Let us bow our heads and pray. Lord, please lift his soul up to You, and heal this hurt."_

 _The preacher continued to speak, but Riley didn't hear a word of it. All she could think of was the life that she and Lucas were going to have, and how that won't happen now. It was ripped away from her, thanks to his fighter jet malfunctioning due to a hard landing. She still couldn't believe that this was happening. That she was sitting at Lucas' funeral._

 _Her mind brought her back to what was happening around her, and quite frankly, she wished it hadn't. The congregation was now singing the saddest song she had ever heard. Riley choked back a sob as she listened to the words, wishing desperately that this was, somehow, a dream._

 _Once the song was finished, the bugler brought the instrument to his lips and began to play the saddening notes of 'Taps'. Four other military men lifted the flag that was draped over Lucas' casket and began to fold it, being precise in every movement._

 _As the final notes echoed around the cemetery, one of the men turned on his heel and brought the neatly folded flag over to Lucas' mother and presented it to her. However, she did not take it. Instead, she nodded her head over to Riley. He nodded in agreement, and handed her the flag._

 _Riley took it from him and quietly thanked him. She ran her hands over its edges, thinking it was all she had left of him._

 _As the twenty one gun salute commenced, Riley felt her heart break. To her, it was as if all of the bullets fired had hit her in the heart. And if that wasn't enough, she felt the ground start to rumble. Everyone's eyes shifted towards the sky, and they saw four F-14s flying in formation. Just as they flew over the cemetery, one of them pulled out of formation and headed higher into the sky as if he were flying up towards Heaven._

The missing man, _Riley thought as she watched the three other jets continue on their course._

 _Riley took her eyes off of the sky and saw Lucas' casket being lowered into the ground. She shook her head as she let a sob escape her._ This can't be happening to me! _her thoughts screamed._

Riley's eyes snapped open as she felt her heart race. It took her a while to realize where she was, but once her eyes got used to the darkness around her she let out a relieved sigh. She was home, and what she had saw, was just a dream. Riley shook her head as she turned over on her side to face her sleeping husband, who was very much alive. Despite the incident happening a few years ago, it bothered her to think of what _could_ have happened, or rather, what almost _did_ happen.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she shifted herself closer to Lucas. His face appeared very relaxed, and a small smile was spread across his lips. Seeing this made Riley smile, and it made her wonder what he was dreaming about. _Whatever it is, it's probably better than what I just saw,_ she thought to herself.

After a few more minutes, Riley scooted herself a bit closer to him. Whether or not he felt her getting closer to him despite being in a deep sleep, Lucas wrapped his arm around her. Just this simple act brought such happiness to her. Riley placed her head near his chest and listened to the steady rhythms of his heart and his breathing.

 _It's okay,_ she told herself. _He's here and everything is fine._

As the minutes passed, Riley closed her eyes and let the beating of his heart lull her back to sleep.

 _ **A/N: If you could let me know what you thought before you leave that would be great. ~cowgirlangel95 out**_


End file.
